A healthy and glowing appearance on your skin is a sign of vitality and youthfulness. However, in the case of oily skin, the glow can be a little too much and cause problems such as frequent breakouts. Read on to find out what oily skin is, how you can tell you have it, what causes it, and how to get rid of oily skin.
What is Oily Skin?
There are different types of skin and oily skin is one of them. People with this type of skin have a perpetual shiny or glossy appearance. Other skin types are normal, dry and combination skin which is a mix of different skin types.
How to Recognize Oily Skin?
Look out for the following signs to tell you whether you have oily skin:
- A shiny face that gets greasy as the day progresses
- Enlarged and clearly visible skin pores mostly on your nose, forehead, and chin
- When you try to put makeup, it doesn’t stay on
- Your skin is pale and thicker so blood vessels are not visible
- The oiliest parts of the face have whiteheads and/or blackheads
- You tend to leave oil stains on things that you touch
What Causes Oily Skin?
Under your skin surface are sebaceous glands that secrete an oily substance known as sebum. Sebum is responsible for hydrating, lubricating, and protecting the skin from dryness and irritation. However, when the sebaceous glands are overactive, they produce excess sebum and this is what causes you to have oily skin. There a number of factors that may make the sebaceous glands active and they include:
Genetics
Overactive sebaceous glands are more often than not hereditary. If you have family members with oily skin, you’re more likely to also have it.
Large Pores
The larger your pores are, the more likely you’ll produce more sebum. Pores may be enlarged due to weight fluctuations, previous breakouts, or age.
Climate and Season
You are more likely to have oilier skin if you live in a hot and humid climate. The same is also true during the summer season. This happens when the body produces and evaporates sweat to give you a cooling effect. As the regular sweat glands produce watery sweat, sebaceous glands produce oil to slow down the evaporation of this sweat so that you’ll experience the cooling effect for longer.
Age
You tend to have oiler skin when you’re younger because your skin has more protein and your sebaceous glands are more active. As people age, their skin gets drier because skin loses proteins like collagen which helps in retaining moisture and the sebaceous glands slow their sebum production. Therefore, the oiliness of your skin will disappear as you age. You also have the wonderful advantage of your skin aging slower than your counterparts with less oily skin.
Going Overboard with Skin Care
Washing and exfoliating too often will make your skin oilier. This is because your sebaceous glands try to compensate for the natural oils that have been stripped by going into emergency mode and overproducing oil.
Wrong Skin Care Products
Harsh skin products strip natural oils from your skin so the sebaceous glands produce even more oil. Alcohol-based products also dry your skin and provoke sebaceous glands to be overactive.
Going Without Moisturizer and Sunscreen
Moisturizer helps with keeping your skin hydrated. If you skip out on it, your skin dries up and your sebaceous glands overproduce oil to make up for it.
Forgetting or failing to put sunscreen also makes your skin dry out; hence your sebaceous glands work overtime.
What to Look for When Choosing Skin Products for Oily Skin
When buying skincare products, make sure to get those that are suitable for oily skin. The best products for oily skin should remove excess oil without drying your skin completely and compounding the problem further. You should also look out for non-comedogenic products that are oil-free and don’t clog up pores.
Some ingredients like salicylic acid, retinol, niacimide, hyaluronic acid, glycolic acid, dimethicone, and sulphur help your sebaceous glands function normally so look out for them in product labels as you shop. They penetrate through the pores to the sebaceous gland and absorb oil from it. Clay masks contain kaolin which also absorbs excess oil from your skin.
You should go for lighter forms of skin products like gels, serums, or lotions instead of ointments which are heavy.
Best Skin Care Routines for Oily Skin
To help you have healthy and less oily skin, there are skin care routines you need to follow consistently in the morning and night. They include:
Cleansing
Cleansing is a very important step for oily skin. Excess oils, dead skin cells, and dirt tend to build up and clog your pores throughout the day and night. Use a gentle water-based cleanser to clean your face before you apply any other product.
Read more
“Face cleansing explained – everything you should know about how to take care of your face”
Exfoliating
The build of dirt, oil, and skin cells is very common in oily skin. Exfoliating 2-3 times a week will help unclog your pores, remove blackheads, and improve your skin texture. You can either use chemical exfoliants like alpha-hydroxy acids or physical ones like loofahs.
Toning
After getting rid of residues on your skin, toning is the next step for prepping it for the other steps of your skin care routine. It helps your skin easily absorb the ingredients of the products you intend to apply. Use a toner that contains compounds that absorb oil without drying it out like salicylic acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid.
Applying Treatment
This is the step where you use the treatment that’s specific to your skin needs. It could be serums to reduce oil production or acne breakouts, anti-aging treatment, hydrating treatment, or skin brightening treatment.
Whatever your needs, choose lightweight and watery products that your oily skin can absorb easily.
Moisturizing
Moisturizing keeps your skin from drying up and triggering the sebaceous glands further. It also helps seal up all the products that you’ve just applied to your skin. Again, stick to lightweight moisturizers, especially the gel or emulsion types.
Sunscreen
Finally, finish up your skin routine by applying sunscreen to protect your skin from UV light that dries out your skin and is also harmful.
Read more
“Skincare 101: The Best Methods to keep your skin young and glowing”
How to Get Rid of Oily Skin: Best Home Remedies/Products
Below are some of the best solutions of how to get rid of oily skin easily at home:
Wash Your Face Regularly
You should wash your face twice a day without fail. This will get rid of the dirt and oil that clog pores and causes breakouts. However, don’t do it any more than you need to.
Honey
Honey is very good with acne-prone and oily skin because it has antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It’s also a humectant so it moisturizes your skin without making it oily.
To use it, apply a thin layer of honey on your face and leave it on for 10 minutes. After this, wash it off with warm water.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal can exfoliate dead skin cells, absorb excess sebum, and reduces inflammation. To make a facemask out of it, ground oatmeal and mix it with honey or mashed fruits. Apply the mixture on your face and leave it on for 10-15 minutes and rinse it off with warm water.
Blotting Papers
They are small and thin papers that you can use to absorb excess oil from your face and stop it from appearing greasy. You can buy them over-the-counter and use them whenever you need them.
Aloe Vera
Aloe vera can rid you of the flaky skin that’s left behind by oily skin. Apply a thin layer of aloe vera before you get into bed and rinse it off in the morning. Test for allergic reactions before you use it for the first time.
Almonds
Grounded almonds absorb excess oil and impurities on your skin and also exfoliate dead skin cells. You can make an almond face scrub by mixing 3 teaspoons of ground almonds in 2 tablespoons of honey. Apply the mixture onto your face in circular motions gently. Rinse it off with warm water and pat dry.
Establish a consistent skin care routine and use any of the above recommended home remedies and say goodbye to a shiny and greasy face!